Shatei
by Rinaidran Warrior
Summary: Mokuba and Seto get into a huge argument, and Mokuba leaves to go live with Joey when Seto leaves for his office and doesn't return for three days. Although they'd never admit it, the fight has affected them both drastically.


Disclaimer: Don't own YGO. By the way, the cause of Mokuba and Seto's argument shall never be revealed. BWAHAHAHAHA! You, my dear readers, will simply start reading in the middle of thier argument, when it's at its worst. So ha.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I wish I could go live with Joey instead!" Mokuba yelled. Rage burned in Seto's eyes.

"WHEELER?! After all I did at Duelist Kingdom to save you, this is how I'm repaid? Wheeler didn't work half as hard as I did to save his younger sister! He sat back and let Yugi duel for him!" Seto yelled.

"That's exactly what you did," Mokuba hissed back, unable to control his words. Horror started to replace the anger in him as Seto went limp in shock for a minute, but then the teenager's face glowed with horrible wrath. Mokuba adopted a battle stance.

Seto's voice dropped dangerously. "It's your fault that Mom died. She would still be alive if you hadn't been born," he whispered, immediately regretting his words deeply. But he had hit a nerve.

Mokuba stared, completely frozen. Angry tears threatened to fall from his big gray eyes, but soon raw fury took hold of him. "So I'm a murderer, am I? May I remind you who pushed Gozaburo out a window? Who almost killed Yugi's grandpa? Who drove our real father to commit suicide? You...because you were too weak to deal with it." With that, Mokuba picked up Seto's heavy briefcase and threw it at his brother.

Sometime during Mokuba's rant, the young C.E.O. had fallen to his knees. Mokuba had expected Seto to catch the briefcase, but now that Seto's head had dropped to the level of the flying object, it hit him full in the face. The boy gasped in horror as blood spurted from Seto's nose and the long gash on his cheek.

Seto looked up. "You..." he said menacingly to Mokuba, as he wiped the blood from his face. "I could have been successful on my own, but instead I wasted my time on you, you ungrateful little shit." Mokuba remained silent. "YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" Seto roared. "YOU NEVER HELPED ME! YOU'RE THE WORST BIG BROTHER ON EARTH! I NEVER LIKED YOU! I'VE ALWAYS HATED YOU!" Mokuba screamed. 

"I HATE YOU!" Both brothers yelled at the same time. 

"If you hate me so much, go live with Joey. I'm leaving," Seto announced coldly.

As Seto turned on his heel and left through the front door, Mokuba reached for the telephone and carelessly dialed Joey's number, as if he just wanted to chat. Seto, meanwhile, strode down the street like he as just out for a stroll. But despite their casual actions, both had tears streaming down their faces. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Three Days Later

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seto typed furiously at his office computer. Dark rings circled his eyes, which were red from crying, and his face was splashed with dried blood from his cut. His face was thinner than usual, and his fingers moved more sluggishly across the keyboard. He hated to admit it...but he missed Mokuba.

No...he couldn't go back...

__

"So I'm a murderer, am I? May I remind you who pushed Gozaburo out a window? Who almost killed Yugi's grandpa? Who drove our real father to commit suicide? You...because you were too weak to deal with it," Mokuba's voice said in his head. It had a laughing tone to it.

__

Too weak...

Seto shook with rage, and kept typing. He hadn't left his office chair for three days, and he didn't intend to any time soon. He paused slightly to feel the healing cut on his cheek, and closed his eyes, which had turned dull.

__

I bet Mokuba's better off without me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mokuba stared out the window. Tears escaped his eyes as he stared at the pouring rain. He missed Seto already.

Just then, Joey and Yugi walked into the room. Joey hated seeing the once-cheerful Mokuba so sad, and at first he had cursed Kaiba for making his brother so upset. But when he heard the details of the terrible fight, he realized with a shock that the great Seto Kaiba had broken down in tears and left. Joey wasn't quite used to having any reason to feel any emotion other than contempt for Kaiba, so it came as a surprise to him when he felt a brief wave of pity.

Yugi, who was sometimes too kind for his own good, was very concerned about Mokuba, because the boy's heart had been shattered during the fight. He was also growing increasingly alarmed at Kaiba's behavior, because it was rumored that the C.E.O. hadn't emerged from his office for three days straight. Yugi was now faced with the task of telling Mokuba that his cherished big brother might not have eaten or slept in three days. It might further fracture Mokuba's heart, but it was also possible that Mokuba was the only one who could get Seto out of this depressing rut.

"Mokuba?"

The child gave a slight nod to acknowledge that he had heard Yugi.

"I-I don't know how to tell you this...but your brother...is in trouble. He hasn't eaten or slept in three days, and I don't think he will unless someone forces him."

Mokuba spoke for the first time after telling Joey the details of the fight. "He already thinks I'm a murderer, so why not add one more victim to my list?"

Joey and Yugi nearly stepped back in horror. Mokuba didn't care?

Yugi came back to his senses first. _Mokuba does care_, he thought, _he's just too upset to show it._

Yugi whispered something quickly to Joey, then left in a hurry. Joey walked over to where Mokuba was sitting, and plopped down next to him.

"Mokuba, I'm sorry...about what happened, y'know...Kaiba said some bad things about ya, the scum-" Joey stopped himself with a mental slap. _Aargh! Stupid! Shut UP, Joey!_ He thought to himself. A flicker of anger could be seen in Mokuba's eyes, but the boy remained silent.

At that moment, Serenity stormed in from where she had been eavesdropping at the door. "JOEY!" She cried, grabbing her big brother's ear. She dragged him out of the room, where she gave him a brief lecture. After finishing her lecture, Serenity hugged Joey, much to his surprise, and quietly tiptoed towards Mokuba. 

Mokuba noticed her immediately, but before he could do anything, Serenity caught him in a bear hug. Mokuba struggled for a minute before going limp.

"There, there, Mokuba, I know what it's like to have a big brother...Shh, it's okay..."

Mokuba looked up at her, tears in his eyes. "Serenity, I-I didn't mean a-anything I said..." "Mokuba, I'm sure Seto didn't mean any of it either-"

Serenity never finished her sentence, because Mokuba had started to sob broken-heartedly at the sound of his brother's name. Serenity fell silent and let the little boy cry, her arms still wrapped around him tightly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yugi knocked timidly on the door to Kaiba's office, holding two sandwiches from the nearby deli. As he had expected, there was no answer.

After knocking a few more times, Yugi grew frustrated, a look of confusion and frustration on his small face. He intended to rattle the door handle, but instead the door flew open...it had been unlocked.

Yugi quickly scanned the room, and spotted a hunched form sitting on a large, leather armchair in the corner, typing furiously at a laptop. The short boy slowly advanced towards the tense form of Kaiba.

Seto looked up at Yugi, shocking the smaller boy into silence. His face was thin and drawn, and dried blood spattered it. There was a long gash on his cheek. The once sharp ice-blue eyes had faded to a dull blue-gray, and his eyes were circled by dark rings. Seto's brown hair was tangled and limp.

Seto took Yugi's silence as a loss of interest in him, and continued typing.

"SETO KAIBA!"

Seto looked up. "What do you want, Mutou?" He asked hoarsely.

Yugi frowned. "I want this to end," The little tenshi answered. With that, he snatched Kaiba's laptop, replaced it with both of the deli sandwiches, and ran across the room with the laptop, where he placed it on a shelf. Seto blinked at his stolen computer, then at the sandwiches, then at the spiky-haired boy sitting across the office from him, standing guard over said computer.

"First, eat those," Yugi instructed, gesturing towards the sandwiches, "Then you will have a nap, then you will go talk to Mokuba," he finished, not sounding unlike a bossy nanny. But his first instructions had come too late, and the sandwiches were already gone. Yugi turned to Kaiba, and he was sitting very still in his chair. The shorter boy, upon closer inspection, noticed something odd about the C.E.O.'s posture.

Seto was fast asleep in the armchair, and his head had dropped limply to the side, where his shoulder supported it. A small, worried frown was still on his face. 

Yugi gently took Seto's discarded trenchcoat and laid it on top of the tall teenager. Then, with a satisfied smile on his face, he quietly walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mokuba walked out the door of the Wheeler's small apartment, and waved back at Joey and Serenity. "Good luck, man!" Joey called after him, and Serenity smiled.

Mokuba's feet knew the way, so he could allow himself to get lost in thought as he walked.

__

What will I say? What if he's still mad?

Suddenly, Mokuba found himself at the door to a tall building with the letters 'KC' next to the entrance. He walked resolutely in, and went straight to the elevator. At the touch of a button, it shot up to floor five.

Mokuba tiptoed down the hall towards the huge wooden door he knew so well, and opened it with a tiny creak. 

No one was in the office.

Mokuba let out a frustrated noise. "No one's here? I just came to apologize, and no one's here?" Tears leaked out of Mokuba's eyes as he imagined where Seto might have gone. Had he left town? Had he...gotten hurt? Or...died?

At that thought, Mokuba burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Seto!" Mokuba cried to thin air.

"I am too, Mokuba," a familiar voice said from behind him. Mokuba whirled around and was instantly caught in a hug. "Seto?" Mokuba sobbed into Seto's chest, hugging him back tightly. "I-I'm so sorry, little brother." It was then that Mokuba realized Seto was crying. Seto sank to the floor, and Mokuba clung to him tightly. "I didn't m-mean any of it, Seto...you're the best big brother ever...a-and you're not weak," Mokuba sobbed. "Mokuba, you didn't ruin my life. You are my life. It's not your fault Mom died, but I'm glad that you were born. You're the best thing that ever happened to me.." Seto trailed off, tears still streaming down his face.

The two brothers stopped talking and simply cried together. All was forgiven.

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Awwwww! Sorry if this sucked, it's just a one shot thingy.


End file.
